Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes (The Anchor Bible, Vol. 1) [Hardcover]

E. A. Speiser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 1964

Genesis is Volume I in the Anchor Bible series of new book-by-book translations of the Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha.  Ephraim Avigdor Speiser was University Professor and Chairman of the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Using authoritative evidence from archaeology, linguistics, and comparative religion, the author presents some startling conclusions about the first book of the Bible.  He proves, for example, that the famous opening phrase, "In the beginning," is not true to the meaning of the first word, that the designation "Torah" for the Pentateuch is a misnomer, that the best-known stories of Genesis are grounded in pagan mythology.  Speiser is an iconoclast in the tradition of Abraham; he exposes the false in order to help achieve truth.  As he says in his introduction, he "is not motivated by mere pedantry...but by the hope that each new insight may bring us that much closer to the secret of the Bible's universal and enduring appeal."

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Genesis is Volume I in the Anchor Bible series of new book-by-book translations of the Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha. Ephraim Avigdor Speiser was University Professor and Chairman of the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Using authoritative evidence from archaeology, linguistics, and comparative religion, the author presents some startling conclusions about the first book of the Bible. He proves, for example, that the famous opening phrase, "In the beginning," is not true to the meaning of the first word, that the designation "Torah" for the Pentateuch is a misnomer, that the best-known stories of Genesis are grounded in pagan mythology. Speiser is an iconoclast in the tradition of Abraham; he exposes the false in order to help achieve truth. As he says in his introduction, he "is not motivated by mere pedantry...but by the hope that each new insight may bring us that much closer to the secret of the Bible's universal and enduring appeal."

From the Inside Flap

Genesis is Volume I in the Anchor Bible series of new book-by-book translations of the Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha. Ephraim Avigdor Speiser was University Professor and Chairman of the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Using authoritative evidence from archaeology, linguistics, and comparative religion, the author presents some startling conclusions about the first book of the Bible. He proves, for example, that the famous opening phrase, "In the beginning," is not true to the meaning of the first word, that the designation "Torah" for the Pentateuch is a misnomer, that the best-known stories of Genesis are grounded in pagan mythology. Speiser is an iconoclast in the tradition of Abraham; he exposes the false in order to help achieve truth. As he says in his introduction, he "is not motivated by mere pedantry...but by the hope that each new insight may bring us that much closer to the secret of the Bible's universal and enduring appeal."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 378 pages
• Publisher: Anchor Bible; 1st edition (September 16, 1964)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385008546
• ISBN-13: 978-0385008549
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential for the serious student, December 25, 2001

By 

Michael Baxter (LONDON United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes (The Anchor Bible, Vol. 1) (Hardcover)

Speiser was one of the greatest experts on Semitic languages of the 20th century. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what the Hebrew really means. There is also a lot of helpful background material (though after nearly 40 years this is no longer up to date) and thoughtful analysis. Speiser was no fundamentalist, and was often prepared to say that the text is not to be taken literally, but he was less "critical" than many authors. He believed firmly in the Documentary Hypothesis, and each passage is carefully dissected into its J, E and P components, but this material can be ignored by anyone (including myself) who rejects that hypothesis. There is probably no single commentary that would suffice for a detailed study of Genesis, but this book should be one of the commentaries at hand for the serious student.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Genesis: A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary, June 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes (The Anchor Bible, Vol. 1) (Hardcover)

I am far from being a Bible scholar, but I found Speiser's commentary and his trasnlation informative and useful. He is a proponent of the source document theory, and faithfully incorporates this theory in his discussions. While decades have passed since its release, this book remains a valuable source of enlightenment for novices in Biblical studies.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Stop for the Serious Student, February 2, 2009

By 

Henry E. Neufeld "Bible Teacher" (Pensacola, FL, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes (The Anchor Bible, Vol. 1) (Hardcover)

Speiser is an expert linguist and critical scholar. Other reviews comment on his support of the documentary hypothesis, but that is practically universal amongst critical scholars. The question is just how much value one gets from that understanding when interpreting. Spesier belongs to that older school of critical scholarship that tends to believe that having identified source and redactional elements, one's work is done.

Some current scholarship, on the other hand seems to take the view that you can dismiss such considerations and still deeply understand the text. Often either the full acceptance or the dismissal of form, source, and redaction criticism are done without serious consideration.

What Speiser will do for the student of Genesis is point out clearly the more or less standard division of the sources. In many commentaries it is very difficult to tell what is what in source theory of the Pentateuch, and sometimes students dismiss as excessively complex or poorly supported something they have never really been able to see clearly portrayed. Speiser will help with that task.

Speiser's volume is not my favorite Genesis commentary. I personally prefer von Rad Genesis: A Commentary (Old Testament Library). While he also strongly supports the documentary hypothesis, he tends to build on the theological themes more effectively than does Speiser.

I rate this as a good buy for a serious student of Genesis. Don't expect it to lead you directly to sermon points if you're a pastor. It's more for background study that will fuel your thinking and bear fruit later. A more directly theological commentary, such as von Rad, Waltke (Genesis: A Commentary), Brueggeman (Genesis: Interpretation : A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching)), or even the shorter volume by Derek Kidner in the Tyndale Old Tesament Commentary series (Genesis (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries)) will be better for Saturday night sermon prep!